SIGOURNEY — It’s one thing for students to get something right on a test. But it can be especially rewarding to get things right when money is on the line.

Business students from Sigourney Junior/Senior High School have developed plans in class. And with the grand opening of the eSigourney Entrepreneurial Academy for Leadership [eSEAL], every participating student gets a computer, an office and the support of a mentor.

“Our goal is for all of these to become profitable businesses,” said adult advisor and business teacher Shannon Svenby.

Though only in the idea stage now, Sigourney High School student Matt Christner was getting a lot of attention from the adults visiting the open house Friday.

His Frost Company was not, he said, selling ice. His professional-looking brochure said “Archiving: That’s the job.”

The idea came about when he was told in business class he needed an idea for a company. He had heard people complaining they had paper documents they wish they could access more easily via computer.

His business plan is that he’ll scan those old paper records and turn them into computer files. That way, as companies move from having everything in filing cabinets to having everything on their “desktop,” Christner could help them transition.

“It’s a good idea,” said Angie Alderson, a visitor to the open house.

She said her office has records going back over a century. She’s the Sigourney city clerk.

In her office, though all new records are computerized, there aren’t enough hours or workers to put old records online. And while independent companies have contacted her about transferring records into a computer file for her, those established businesses have one major flaw: They want the records sent to them.

“I’m not letting those minutes out of the office,” she told the student. “I can’t. But would you come to our office?”

Sure, said Christner; he could bring his scanner and copy one document after another. But getting the business going may take some time.

“Nobody’s going to trust their documents to someone without a degree,” he told the Courier. “I plan on majoring in management information systems [in college].”

So right now, he’s developing the plan until he can actually learn “how to make [documents] more secure.”

Near Christner’s cubicle are nine other offices in the district’s incubator building, located on the Sigourney square’s south side. So far, a total of eight are taken.